8.  The applicant was born in 1948. He worked as chief financial expert at the Municipal Privatisation Agency in Plovdiv. In the end of 1995 the competent financial control authority commenced an audit in the course of which it was established that public funds might have been misappropriated by the applicant. He was questioned several times. On 10 May 1996 criminal proceedings were opened against him.
9.  On 14 May 1996 the applicant was arrested and brought before an investigator who charged him and decided to remand him in custody. The detention order was approved by a prosecutor on the same day. The charges concerned misappropriation of public funds by means of several separate acts between 1994 and 1996. Charges were also brought against two other persons.
10.  On 17 June 1996 the applicant requested the Regional Prosecutor to release him. He stated that there was no danger of him absconding, committing an offence or obstructing the course of justice as he did not have a criminal record, had a permanent address and a family and, ever since his daughter’s tragic death, had been taking care of his five years’ old grand‑daughter. The applicant’s daughter had been killed by her husband. Their child, the applicant’s granddaughter, had thus remained without parents, her father being in prison for the murder of her mother.
11.  The request was dismissed on 21 June 1996 by the Regional Public Prosecutor who stated that the danger of absconding could not be excluded in view of the large amounts that the applicant might have misappropriated.
12.  On 15 July 1996 the applicant appealed that decision to the Chief Public Prosecutor, adding that he had never attempted to abscond during the financial audit and had even collaborated actively and had arranged for the reimbursement of certain amounts. The applicant also stated that his health was unstable and that his wife was ill.
13.  The appeal was dismissed by decision of the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office of 31 July 1996, registered on 2 August 1996. The decision stated that an exception from the mandatory detention under Article 152 § 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was only possible on health grounds. However, no such grounds had been established.
14.  On 20 December 1996 the applicant appealed against his pre-trial detention. On 11 March 1997 the Regional Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the applicant’s remand in custody without giving reasons.
15.  On an unspecified date the applicant again requested that his pre-trial detention be substituted by a more lenient measure.
16.  On 12 May 1997 the Regional Public Prosecutor dismissed the applicant’s request stating that the fact that the applicant had been taking care of his grand-daughter could not lead to the conclusion that no danger of his absconding existed. Furthermore, the medical doctors who had examined the applicant had found that he was healthy.
17.  The applicant’s ensuing appeal of 19 May 1997, in which he submitted, inter alia, that the investigation had been unreasonably lengthy, was dismissed on 11 June 1997 by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. The decision stated that only exceptional circumstances, excluding any hypothetical danger of absconding, reoffending or obstructing the course of justice, could warrant the applicant’s release. The applicant’s reference to the length of the investigation, to “justice” and international treaties could not be taken into consideration.
18.  On 29 June 1997 the applicant appealed to the Chief Public Prosecutor against the decision of 11 June 1997. He reiterated his arguments that during the 6-months investigation conducted by the financial authorities he had reported regularly when summoned and had never attempted to suppress evidence or evade justice. On 16 July 1997 the applicant’s appeal was dismissed on the ground that no exceptional circumstances warranting release had been established.
19.  In July 1997 the investigator completed his work on the case. During the preliminary investigation he questioned 23 witnesses, appointed 5 experts and examined their reports and studied numerous financial, commercial and other documents.
20.  On 6 October 1997 the competent prosecutor submitted an indictment to the Plovdiv Regional Court against the applicant and two other persons.
21.  The fist hearing was listed for 3 November 1997 but could not proceed as one of the accused persons had not been allowed sufficient time to prepare his defence. The case was adjourned until 10 December 1997.
22.  On 24 November 1997 the applicant lodged an application for release with the Regional Court, claiming that his health had deteriorated and that he had to take care of his granddaughter. On 27 November 1997, at a public hearing, that court dismissed the application on the ground that the criminal offence with which he was charged was very serious and that he might tamper with evidence or influence witnesses.
23.  On 10 and 11 December 1997 the Regional Court began the examination of the criminal case. The applicant and the other two accused persons were questioned and nineteen witnesses and two experts were heard. The hearing was adjourned as some of the witnesses had not appeared and the parties sought to call additional witnesses.
24.  At the next hearing, on 5 and 6 February 1998, the Regional Court heard twelve witnesses and several experts. Three witnesses and one expert had not been summoned which necessitated an adjournment. Before closing the hearing, the Regional Court heard the applicant’s renewed appeal against detention and dismissed it, stating that remand in custody was mandatory in all cases where the charges concerned a serious offence. The case did not fall within the exception from that rule, as provided under Article 152 § 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
25.  The hearing resumed on 10 April 1998. The Regional Court heard an expert and accepted the request of the accused persons for the appointment of three additional experts in banking and finance. It again dismissed the applicant’s application for release on the grounds that there were no new circumstances warranting release and that, since new experts would be working on the case, there was a danger of the applicant tampering with evidence.
26.  On 22 April 1998 the applicant’s lawyer lodged an appeal with the Appellate Court against the decision of 10 April 1998 concerning his detention. He reiterated the arguments stated in previous appeals, stressing that all facts had been clarified, that he had cooperated with the financial auditing authorities and did not dispute their findings and that he could not possibly tamper with evidence since he had been dismissed from his job. Before transmitting the appeal to the Appellate Court, on 27 April 1998 the Plovdiv Regional Court confirmed its decision.
27.  On 12 May 1998 the Appellate Court, sitting in private, dismissed the appeal. It stated that Article 152 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was incompatible with Article 5 of the Convention, which was directly applicable. The applicant’s appeal was however ill founded in any event. That was so because the applicant was charged with the misappropriation of approximately 16 million old Bulgarian levs (at a time when this amount was the equivalent of about 200,000 US dollars). Therefore, there was a real danger of absconding. Furthermore, the trial was close to conclusion.
28.  The hearing listed for 19 and 20 May 1998 was adjourned until 17 June 1998 as the lawyer of one the applicant’s co-accused could not attend.
29.  On 15 June 1998 the applicant complained against his detention, arguing that it was not reasonable to believe that he could forge documents to be examined by the experts or influence witnesses. He also invoked the fact that he had already been detained for two years and several months.
30.  The appeal was dismissed at the hearing on 17 June 1998 before the Regional Court on the ground that the applicant might forge some important financial documents and obstruct the fact-finding, taking into consideration that there were more witnesses and expert-witnesses to be heard. The hearing was again adjourned as the lawyer of one of the applicant’s co‑accused had not appeared. The court also decided to summon another witness.
31.  The applicant’s ensuing appeal was dismissed on 24 July 1998 by the Appellate Court, sitting in private. Referring to the statement of one of the other accused persons that shortly before his arrest in May 1996 the applicant had asked him to forge or destroy banking documents, the court stated that the applicant could obstruct the course of justice. Further, it has not been established that no danger of the applicant’s absconding or committing an offence existed. Finally, the Regional Court was trying to conduct a prompt trial, but the investigation activities and examination of evidence were too complex.
32.  The next hearing in the criminal case took place on 9 September 1998. The Regional Court heard two witnesses and adjourned the hearing, as the experts had not deposited their report. The applicant renewed his appeal against detention. He reiterated that he would not abscond as he had to look after his granddaughter and stated that there was no danger of him tampering with evidence at that advanced stage of the proceedings. The appeal was dismissed on the ground that under Article 152 § 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure release was only possible if the existence of any danger of absconding, committing an offence or obstruction was excluded beyond doubt. Furthermore, it was not true that the applicant’s detention had become unreasonably lengthy.
33.  On 10 September 1998 the applicant appealed to the Appellate Court reiterating detailed arguments with reference to his previous appeals. Relying on Article 5 § 4 of the Convention, he insisted that the court should reply in concreto.
34.  On 19 October 1998 the Appellate Court, sitting in private, dismissed the applicant’s appeal holding that in view of the seriousness of the case and the applicant’s behaviour during the preliminary investigation, there was a danger of obstructing the course of justice. As to the allegedly excessive length of the detention, the requirements of the Convention in this respect did not mean that the provisions of domestic law on pre-trial detention could be ignored. Finally, the trial was approaching its end.
35.  The hearing in the criminal case resumed on 14 December 1998 before the Regional Court but was adjourned as some important issues were yet to be tackled by the experts. In particular, no annual statement, declaration of funds or the text of certain regulations of the Privatisation Agency could be found. Other vital documents from the Privatisation Agency and from a bank were missing and some important documents could only be obtained as copies.
36.  At that hearing the applicant’s renewed request for release on bail was dismissed as he was charged with a serious criminal offence for which pre-trial detention was mandatory by law. He could not rely on the exception provided for under Article 152 § 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure as the experts had yet to prepare their report and, therefore, there was a danger of the applicant obstructing the course of justice. The length of the applicant’s detention was not excessive in view of the gravity of the charges.
37.  On 21 December 1998 the applicant filed an appeal against the above decision with the Appellate Court.
38.  On 26 January 1999 that court, sitting in chambers, dismissed the applicant’s appeal. The court stated that under the Code of Criminal Procedure preventive measures were imposed on the basis of the gravity of the charges. It was for the prosecution authorities to charge the accused and to decide on the corresponding preventive measures, having regard to the gravity of the charges and the personal circumstances of the accused. The trial court, pending the determination of the criminal charges, was bound by the terms of the indictment as there was a presumption that the prosecution authorities had the necessary evidence to charge the accused. Therefore, since the applicant was charged with a serious offence and no exceptional circumstances under Article 152 § 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure had been established, there were no grounds to order release on bail. In any event, the case would soon be decided.
39.  The next hearing before the Regional Court took place on 9 February 1999. A completed expert’s report was examined. The applicant sought an adjournment as his second lawyer was absent. The court noted that no good cause had been shown for his absence, but acceded to the request in view of the applicant’s insistence that his second lawyer should make final oral pleadings on his behalf.
40.  The applicant again requested to be released, considering that the detention exceeded the reasonable time and that it was unreasonable to believe that he could commit further offences or evade justice. The court again dismissed the applicant’s request.
41.  On 10 February 1999 the applicant filed an appeal with the Appellate Court against the refusal of the Regional Court to release him. On 19 March 1999 that court dismissed the applicant’s appeal on the ground that the fact that the expert’s report was completed did not constitute a new fact in favour of the applicant’s release. It further held that there were no exceptional circumstances within the meaning of Article 152 § 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The length of the detention could not be relied upon by the applicant as the applicant’s lawyer had caused a delay by failing to appear in court.
42.  The next hearing was scheduled for 12 April 1999 and then adjourned to 12 May 1999, apparently owing to the failure of the Appellate Court to return the case file in due time.
43.  On 12 May 1999 the Regional Court heard the final oral pleadings of the parties and dismissed the applicant’s request for release on bail.
44.  On 17 May 1999 the applicant was found guilty and sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.
45.  Upon the applicant’s appeal, on 14 December 1999 the Plovdiv Appellate Court upheld his conviction and mitigated the sentence to five years’ imprisonment.
46.  On 12 January 2000 the applicant filed a petition for review with the Supreme Court of Cassation.
47.  On 6 July 2000 the Supreme Court of Cassation upheld the Appellate Court’s judgment.